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Wewith the children, and with no further co bills, or the number of stairs I would be required to climb to take a bath The last worry was moot in any event, since Philippe had installed a screw-drive elevator in the tall tower after a visit to Russia in 1811 Happily, the elevator had been electrified in 1896 and no longer required the strength of a vampire to turn the crank
Only Marthe accoh Alain and Victoire would have preferred to join us in Lier, hands Marthe cooked and helped Matthew andfor two infants As Sept-Tours filled up with knights, Fernando and Sarah would join us here--Jack, too, if he found the crush of strangers overwhelh we rattled around Les Revenants, it gave us a chance to finally be a faht now that we kne to nourish her tiny body properly And Philip weathered every change of routine and location with his usual thoughtful expression, staring at the lightwith quiet content papers in the library
Marthe watched over the children whenever we asked her to, giving Matthew and me a chance to reconnect after our weeks of separation and the stresses and joys of the twins’ birth During those preciousthewhere I would plant e of the sunshine and the perfect spot for Matthew to build the twins a tree house
No matter hoonderful it was to be alone, however, we spent every moment we could with the new lives we had created We sat before the fire in our bedroom and watched Rebecca and Philip inch and squir at each other with rapt expressions as their hands clasped The tere always happiest when they were touching, as though the ether in my womb had accustoe to do so, but for noe put theed thehtly around each other and their faces pressed together
The tere usually with us when Matthew and I worked in the library, looking for clues about Benjamin’s present whereabouts, the mysterious witch in Jerusalem and her equally mysterious child, and the Book of Life Philip and Rebecca were soon familiar with the smell of paper and parchment
Their heads turned to follow the sound of Matthew’s voice reading aloud from documents written in Greek, Latin, Occitan, Old French, ancient Gerlish, and Philippe’s unique patois
Philippe’s linguistic idiosyncrasy was echoed in whatever organizational sche his personal files and books Concerted efforts to locate Crusade-era documents, for example, yielded a re the spiritual motives for the First Crusade, bizarrely acco list that enumerated the items Philippe wanted Alain to send from Paris: new shoes from Berluti, a copy of La Cuisine en Dix Minutes, and the third volume of The Science of Life by H G Wells, Julian Huxley, and G P Wells
Our tiether as a fahter and song, forin the tiny perfection of our children, for confessing how anxious we had both been about the pregnancy and its possible cos for each other had never faltered, we reaffirmed them in those quiet, perfect days at Les Revenants even as we braced for the challenges the next weeks would bring
"These are the knights who have agreed to attend" Marcus handed Matthew the guest list His father’s eyes raced down the page
"Giles Russell Excellent" Matthew flipped the page over "Addie Verin Miriaht?"
"While ere in New Orleans It seeht," Marcus said a touch sheepishly
"Well done, Marcus Given ill be in attendance at the children’s christening, I wouldn’t iation would dare to cause trouble," Fernando said with a smile "I think you can relax, Matthew Diana should be able to enjoy the day as you’d hoped"
Matthew didn’t look relaxed, however
"I e’d found Knox" Matthew gazed out the kitchenat the snow Like Benjaested was too terrifying to put into words
"Shall I question Gerbert?" Fernando asked They had discussed the possible repercussions if they acted in a way to suggest that Gerbert was a traitor It could bring the vampires in the southern half of France into open conflict for the first time in more than a millennium
"Not yet," Matthew said, reluctant to add to their troubles "I’ll keep looking through Philippe’s papers There "
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph There cannot be anything more we need to pack for a thirty-minute drive tosacrilegious references to the Holy Family and their Dece today, when the tere to be christened So him, but he refused to tell me what it was
"I want to be sure Philip and Rebecca are coers they’ll bePhilip up and down in an atteh the trip
"Maybe the cradle can stay?" Matthew said hopefully
"We have plenty of roo to need at least one nap Besides, I’ve been reliably inforest motorized vehicle in Lion" The local populace had bestowed upon Matthew the nicknaaffe after the lovably inept corande guiot the Range Rover wedged between a tiny Citroën and an even more minuscule Renault
Matthew sla, Matthew," Sarah said, joining us in front of the house "Your children are going to grow up thinking you’re a bear"
"Don’t you look beautiful," I coreen tailored suit and a luscious crealaathaaround so we could adet: Ysabeau called Matthew should ignore all the cars parked along the drive and coht up to the door They’ve saved a place for you in the courtyard"
"Cars? Parked along the drive?" I looked at Matthew in shock